Sensor technology for identifying and assessing store inventory and merchandising

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for tracking the sales of products and presence of advertising materials within a physical store are provided. According to certain aspects, a sensor component disposed within the physical store may detect light emitted by a unique product identifier (UPI) affixed to a product. A processor of the sensor component may analyze the detected light to determine the UPIs, generate a digital representation of the UPIs within a field of view, and transmit at least a portion of the digital representation to a server computer. A plurality of sensor components may track the movement and sales of various products and presence of advertising materials in the physical store, and the server computer may analyze the resulting data to improve merchandising and the sales experience for customers, among other benefits.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/884,497, filed on Aug. 8, 2019, which is herebyexpressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to various components andtechnologies to identify products within a physical store. Moreparticularly, the present disclose is directed to platforms, components,and techniques for identifying products in stores, and tracking ordetecting sales of the products.

BACKGROUND

Sales in physical retail stores account for more than $15 trilliondollars in annual sales globally, even with the growth over the last fewdecades of e-commerce sales channels. One of the primary differencesbetween e-commerce and physical retail is the availability of qualitydata. In particular, an e-commerce operation enjoys having completecontrol over many aspects of the shopping experience, such as what thecustomer sees, the mix of offerings presented, and pricing. Furthermore,as e-commerce operations exist within computer systems where digitaldata is inherent, accessing such data is comparably easy. In contrast,it is difficult or impossible for physical retail stores and associatedentities to access comparable data. In particular, some data may bedifficult and costly to obtain due to the use of incompatible systems(e.g., a manufacturer wanting pricing data from thousands of independentretailers, each using one of many possible point-of-sale (POS) systemsthat record data in different conventions or formats). Other data maynot be accurate due to human error (e.g., if a cashier incorrectly scansitems during a transaction, thus entering incorrect information into thesystem). Finally, the amount of products or items in any given store atany given time is not known or ascertainable.

Conventionally, manufacturers of products sold at retail rely on anexpensive sales representatives deployed across wide geographies toensure that customers receive the correct brand message and value. Thesesales representatives may collect data to provide some insight intoretail conditions for marketers and managers. However, the datacollected is very limited, as a sales representative may visit alocation once a month (or less) and for only a short amount of time.Further, due to time limitations, the amount of data collected islimited and may only entail answers to a few distinct “yes or no”questions. Moreover, this data has no means of validation and may besubject to human error. Accordingly, the absence of abundant, accurate,and easily-used data from retail stores causes many problems forretailers and manufactures alike. For example, the global cost of lostsales due to out-of-stock items is estimated to be more than a trilliondollars annually globally.

Accordingly, there is an opportunity for platforms and techniques foraccurately, effectively, and efficiently collecting and processinginformation associated with the placement, access, and sales of productsand items at physical stores.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method of identifying productsby a sensor component is provided. The method may include: emitting, bya set of light sources disposed on the sensor component, light in afrequency corresponding to an absorption frequency of a marking appliedto a product; detecting, by a digital sensor, additional light emitted,in an emission frequency, by the marking applied to the product, whereinthe additional light passes through a band-pass filter; analyzing, by acomputer processor, the additional light detected by the digital sensorto identify an identifier corresponding to the product; and generating,by the computer processor, a digital representation of the identifiercorresponding to the product.

In another embodiment, a sensor component for identifying products isprovided. The sensor component may include: a set of light sourcesconfigured to emit light in a frequency corresponding to an absorptionfrequency of a marking applied to a product; a band-pass filterconfigured to pass light having a range of frequencies; a digital sensorconfigured to sense additional light passed through the band-passfilter, wherein the additional light is emitted, in an emissionfrequency within the range of frequencies, by the marking applied to theproduct; and a processor interfaced with the digital sensor andconfigured to: analyze the additional light detected by the digitalsensor to identify an identifier corresponding to the product, andgenerate a digital representation of the identifier corresponding to theproduct.

In a further embodiment, a system for identifying products for sale in astore is provided. The system may include: a sensor component configuredto: emit light in a frequency corresponding to an absorption frequencyof a set of markings applied to a set of products, detect additionallight emitted, in an emission frequency, by the set of markings appliedto the set of products, analyze the additional light to identify a setof identifiers corresponding to the set of products, generate a digitalrepresentation of the set of identifiers corresponding to the set ofproducts, and transmit at least a portion of the digital representationto a server computer. The system may further include the server computerconfigured to: receive, from the sensor component, at least the portionof the digital representation, and determine the set of products from atleast the portion of the digital representation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The figures described below depict various aspects of the systemdisclosed herein. It should be understood that each figure depicts anembodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system, and that eachof the figures is intended to accord with a possible embodiment thereof.Further, wherever possible, the following description refers to thereference numerals included in the following figures, in which featuresdepicted in multiple figures are designated with consistent referencenumerals.

FIG. 1 depicts an overview of components and entities associated withthe systems and methods, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a signal diagram of certain components andfunctionalities associated therewith, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict diagrams of example sensor components, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an example flowchart associated with identifying products by asensor component, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 a hardware diagram depicting an example server and an examplesensor component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Currently, common implementations for collecting various data andinformation associated with the sale of products in physical stores relyon image recognition software, which is generally processor-intensive,slow, inaccurate, and requiring of large quantities of image data to betransmitted, stored, and processed. Additionally, the resulting data isoften inaccurate and incomplete, and expensive to analyze. Examples ofcurrent offerings and applications in use are Trax Retail and Amazon Goretail locations. Trax Retail offers a service to consumer packagedgoods (CPG) manufacturers in which a camera is installed at retail, orsales representatives capture images of products and merchandising on aperiodic basis (e.g., monthly or weekly). The items depicted in theimage are identified through image recognition software, with or withouthuman assistance. Because a single image may not contain enoughinformation for identification, a human is sometimes used to manuallyidentify products.

Similarly, Amazon Go uses image recognition software to identifyproducts on the sales floor, but generally analyzes the data inrear-real-time or real-time, which is expensive and requires extensivehardware and processing power. Further, the data processing only resultsin identification of a stock keeping unit (SKU) of a product, and notany additional data that may be unique to the particular package, item,or product. Additionally, Amazon Go uses a multitude of cameras in orderto view products from many angles, thereby increasing the amount of datathat must be analyzed to identify products and sales activity. Amazon Gostores thus have a reduced SKU count to accommodate these limitations,which reduces options for consumers and leads to a less desirableshopping experience. Introducing new products and/or new packaging canalso be problematic, as the system needs to enter and learn the new dataand information. Moreover, to maintain the many cameras directed atspecific angles, several technicians are needed to operate and manage astore. By contrast, a traditional retail location having the same sizedsales floor may offer three times the amount of unique product offeringsand be managed by one or two employees.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a system 100 of components configuredto facilitate the systems and methods. It should be appreciated that thesystem 100 is merely an example and that alternative or additionalcomponents are envisioned.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 100 may depict a store 105 that mayrepresent any environment of various types and sizes that offersproducts and/or services for purchase by customers (i.e., individuals orusers). Generally, the store 105 may be configured to avail a set ofproducts 104 for customers or employees to retrieve, grab, hold,examine, replace and, in some cases, bring to a point of sale (POS)terminal for purchase. In some implementations, the store 105 may nothave POS terminals.

The products 104 may be arranged into sets/groups of the same or similarproducts within the store 105. For example, a group of milk cartons maybe arranged in an inclined loading mechanism in a refrigerator such thatif a customer selects the milk carton at the front of the line, theremaining milk cartons may slide forward so that a new milk carton isnow at the front of the line. For further example, a group of cerealboxes may be arranged on a shelf such that if a customer selects thecereal box at the front of the shelf, at least the next cereal boxbehind the selected cereal box is visible on the shelf. Generally,products may be arranged front-to-back, side-to-side, and/or accordingto other configurations.

Each of the products 104 may have affixed a unique product identifier(UPI) that includes a code or symbol that may uniquely identify each andevery product 104. For example, each and every stick of deodorant thatis offered for sale in the store 105 may have affixed a UPI even thoughat least some of the sticks of deodorant may be the same type, kind,and/or size. Accordingly, each product 104 in the store 105 may haveassociated a UPI that distinguishes that product 104 from each of theother products 104.

In some situations, a generic SKU such as a generic product identifier(GPI) may be used instead of a UPI. Accordingly, although certainembodiments are described herein using UPIs (or more generally,“identifiers”), it should be understood that the embodiments alsoenvision using GPIs, or some combination of UPIs and GPIs.

Each UPI may be printed or affixed onto the respective product 104 (or acomponent of the product, such as a packaging, container, product label,and/or the like). It should be appreciated that the UPI may be printedor affixed to the product 104 before, during, or after the manufacturingor packaging of the product 104. Accordingly, when the store 105receives the products 104 for sale, the UPIs may already be printed oraffixed to the product 104. It should be appreciated that the store 105(or more particularly, an entity or individuals associated with thestore 105) may print or affix the UPIs to the products 104.

Each UPI may generally be a digital marker such as a 1D code (i.e., atype of bar code), 2D code (e.g., a type of QR code), custom 2D code, orother type of code. In embodiments, a custom 2D code may use elements ofa standard QR code such as three (3) calibration or reference points andvisual bits, or “1”s and “0”s dispersed in designated areas that can bedark or light. The custom 2D codes may deviate from standard QR codes inthat they may not be limited to a square shape, and the number of bitsthat can present may be aligned to the projected number of unique codesthat a product or category space will need in order to provide enoughcodes to every unit over a given production period (e.g., five years).Custom 2D codes may allow UPIs to conform in size, shape, and number ofbits based on a package, label, and/or container size of a givenproduct. Additionally, fewer bits in a given space may allow for anydark or light areas to be larger and therefore easier to recognize by ascanner or sensor.

In various implementations, UPIs may also be applied or affixed toadvertising materials that may be found in or outside the store 105. Asdescribed herein, the term “product” may encompass an advertisingmaterial. Examples of advertising materials include promotional signsthat may be placed near certain products, price indicators, fixtureheaders, brand equity signs, and compliance signs. In some situations,it may not be necessary to print UPIs that are unique to the individualunit of advertising material; rather, it may be necessary to use UPIsunique to the description of the advertisement.

In various implementations, the systems and methods may print or affixUPIs to the respective products 104 at the time of productmanufacturing. However, such implementations may be difficult or costlydue to one or more of the following reasons: manufacturing equipment maybe of a compact design that does not allow for the addition of newprinting or affixing process without significant retooling,manufacturing production line speeds may be too fast to allow for anacceptable quality of printing or affixing of the UPIs, and/or themanufacturer may use a variety of manufacturing processes and retooling,among other reasons.

As an alternative to affixing the UPIs during the production orpackaging stage of the products 104, the systems and methods mayalternatively affix the UPI to the packaging, label, and/or container ofa product 104 at an earlier stage of manufacturing. For example, thesystems and methods may apply or affix the UPIs during the printing of aproduct packaging, as many products are sold in packages that carrybranding identifiers, product information, and/or other messages toconsumers, and these packages are generally printed at a time and placeseparate from when the product 104 is placed in the package and madeready to be sold. As another example, the systems and methods may applyor affix the UPIs during the printing of labels for the products 104, asmany products are sold in containers where a label is affixed thatcontains branding, product information, and/or other messages to the enduser, as these labels are generally printed or manufactured at a timeand place separate from when the label is affixed to the product 104itself or the container that houses the product 104. As a furtherexample, the systems and methods may apply or affix the UPIs during theproduction of containers for the products 104, as many products are soldin containers which are manufactured at a time and place separate fromwhen the product will be placed in the container. For purposes ofdiscussion, it may be assumed that the product 104 discussed herein mayinclude the product as well as the components related to the product(e.g., container, packaging, labels, etc.).

Generally, if a UPI is affixed before the time of product manufacture,it may be difficult to encode the relevant data into the UPI. To remedythis, the systems and methods may provide each unit of product with aunique code in series, where the code may have some convention inherentto it (e.g., SKU identification). The systems and methods may pair theassociated codes in a registry system that enables for the effectiveaccess and reading of the codes. This implementation may be neededbecause the number of needed areas of a product that can be “dark” or“light” is reduced when uniqueness is needed, thus enabling for larger“dark” or “light” areas, which may be easier to read by a sensor.

Certain products may have more than one orientation that is acceptablefor merchandising (e.g., a beverage in a round container such as a canor bottle.) In these situations, the applicable UPI may be of a customshape and size to allow it to be applied several times across thepossible orientations.

As the UPI is applied to or affixed to an area(s) of a product that ishighly visible to a sensor but also to consumers, the UPI may beunperceivable to the human eye, in some embodiments. Accordingly, thesystems and methods may use a class of inks referred to as “infrared(IR) inks,” “IR excitation inks,” or “IR security inks” (generally, “IRink”). IR ink can be transparent to the human eye but react to lightoutside of the range of human perception. This reaction is referred toas a “Stokes Shift,” which occurs when a material absorbs a photon atone frequency and emits a photon at a separate frequency. Generally, ifa camera or sensor were only able to see a narrow band of lightfrequency specific to an IR ink's point of absorption, the IR ink wouldappear black. In contrast, if a camera or sensor were only able to see anarrow band of light frequency specific to an IR ink's point ofemission, the IR ink would appear bright white. Because the human eyecan see up to a wavelength of roughly 750 nm, if IR ink with anabsorption point of 790 nm and an emission point of 850 nm (i.e.,wavelengths outside the visible spectrum) were used in UPIs affixed toproducts, the IR ink could be seen or sensed with a sensor ofappropriate design while not being perceivable by the human eye.

In embodiments, and depending on the specific application, the systemsand methods may use several IR inks in concert. For example, the systemsand methods may print a solid base layer with IR ink that absorbs lightat 850 nm, and then print an UPI on top of the base layer in an IR inkthat emits at 850 nm. This would result in a high contrast UPI that maybe needed or desired on products or packages that are light in color.

In situations in which an IR ink presents a slight tint when applied toa white background, the systems and methods may apply the IR ink beforeany visible ink is applied. Depending on the composition of the visibleink, IR light may pass through the visible ink uninhibited.

Additionally or alternatively, an invisible ultraviolet (UV) ink may beused instead of an IR ink. According to embodiments, an invisible UV inkmay be imperceptible in the visual spectrum under normal light, and maybe visible when illuminated by a UV light (or blacklight). Although someof the embodiments as described herein reference the use of IR ink, itshould be appreciated that other types of inks (e.g., UV ink) may beused.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the store 105 may be further configured with aset of sensor components 107 and a local computer 106. According toembodiments, the set of sensor components 107 may be disposed or locatedat various locations of the store 105, and may be oriented to sense ordetect the UPIs printed or affixed on the products 104. In particular,each of the set of sensor components 107 may be positioned in aline-of-sight of one or more of the set of products 104. For example,one sensor component 107 may be secured to a ceiling of the store 105above a particular portion of the cereal aisle. As another example,another sensor component 107 may be positioned on a shelving unit acrossfrom a refrigerator that stores frozen dinners.

Each of the sensor components 107 may be equipped with one or more lightsources that may emit light at a frequency corresponding to anabsorption frequency of a UPI(s) associated with one or more of theproducts 104, where the UPI(s) may correspondingly emit light at anemission frequency that may be detectable by sensors of the sensorcomponents 107. In embodiments, the sensor components 107 may beequipped with a band-pass filter that may pass light of a certain rangeof frequencies and attenuate frequencies outside that range. Thecomponents of the sensor components 107 are further described withrespect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In an implementation, the sensor components 107 may be configured with aprocessor and one or more communication components, where the processormay process the sensed data and the communication components maytransmit the processed data to one or more other components, devices, orthe like. In an additional or alternative implementation, the sensorcomponents 107 may interface with a local computer 106, where the sensorcomponents 107 may communicate raw or processed sensor data to thelocation computer 106 for further processing and/or communication.

The system 100 of FIG. 1 may further include a server computer 115configured to communicate with components of the store 105 via one ormore networks 110. The server computer 115 may be associated with anentity such as a company, business, corporation, or the like, which maymanage the manufacture, sale, and/or distribution of products that aresold or may be sold in the store 105. For example, the server computer115 may be associated with a consumer goods corporation that may beinterested in the current and projected sales of certain of itsproducts. It should be appreciated that the set of sensor components 107may be associated with the same entity or a different entity to whichthe server computer 115 is associated. Additionally, it should beappreciated that each of the set of sensor components 107 and/or theserver computer 115 may be associated with multiple entities. Forexample, the set of sensor components 107 may sense data identifyingseveral different products or brands associated with multiple differententities.

The local computer 106 and/or the set of sensor components 107 maytransmit or communicate, via the network(s) 110, any raw or processeddata detected or captured by the set of sensor components 107 andassociated with the set of products 104. In embodiments, the network(s)110 may support any type of data communication via any standard ortechnology including various wide area network or local area networkprotocols (e.g., GSM, CDMA, VoIP, TDMA, WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM, GPRS,EV-DO, UWB, Internet, IEEE 802 including Ethernet, WiMAX, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, and others). The system 100 may further include a set of datasources 116 that may communicate with the server computer 115 and thecomponents of the store 105 via the network(s) 110. According toembodiments, the set of data sources 116 may generate, store, andprovide information related to products that are for sale or may be soldwithin the store 105.

The server computer 115 may be configured to interface with or support amemory or storage 113 capable of storing various data, such as in one ormore databases or other forms of storage. The storage 113 may store andmaintain a registry that may associate information associated withproducts with UPIs of the products.

According to embodiments, a sensor(s) (not depicted in FIG. 1) may beinstalled or disposed in the manufacturing process such that thesensor(s) may have a line-of-sight view of UPIs applied on or affixed toproducts as the associated products travel through theproduction/manufacturing steps, where the location of the sensor(s)installation may be dependent on each manufacturing operation. Thesensor components used in the manufacturing process may be similar tothe set of sensor components 107 in the store 105, although themanufacturing sensor components may additionally or alternatively usehardwired data transmission and a high frame-rate sensor.

The sensor(s) may transmit data associated with the sensed UPIs to theserver computer 115 that maintains the registry in the storage 113. Inparticular, the registry may associate UPIs with relevant informationfor the associated product, such as SKU, date, time, facility, operator,specific value offering, expiration date, unit, case, carton, pallet,truck, intended customer, and/or other information. In embodiments, thesystems and methods may ingest and store the relevant information viamanual entry or by interfacing with a batch production system (orsimilar system) of the manufacturer or other entity. When a UPI islinked to relevant information of a product, the server computer 115 maytransmit, via the network(s) 110, data included in the registry to acloud or physical processing facility for storage, and from where thedata may be accessed when the UPIs are detected in a store. According toembodiments, the registry implementation may include an interface(s) topull data from a batch operating system or ingest data from machineoperators.

Although depicted as a single server computer 115 in FIG. 1, it shouldbe appreciated that the server computer 115 may be in the form of adistributed cluster of computers, servers, machines, or the like. Inthis implementation, the entity may utilize the distributed servercomputer(s) 115 as part of an on-demand cloud computing platform.Accordingly, when the components of the store 105 interface with theserver computer 115, the components of the store 105 may actuallyinterface with one or more of a number of distributed computers,servers, machines, or the like, to facilitate the describedfunctionalities.

FIG. 2 depicts a signal diagram 200 associated with the collection andtransmission of UPI data. The signal diagram 200 includes at least onesensor component 205 (such as one of the sensor components 107 asdiscussed with respect to FIG. 1) and a server computer 215 (such as theserver computer 115 as discussed with respect to FIG. 1). It should beappreciated that the sensor component(s) 205 may be installed ordisposed in a store that offers a set of products for sale (e.g., hungor attached to a ceiling, on a wall, on a shelf or other permanent partof a building or equipment, etc.).

The signal diagram 200 may begin when the sensor component(s) 205detects (222) a set of UPIs in its field of view, where the set of UPIsmay be affixed or applied to a corresponding set of products. Inparticular, the sensor component(s) 205 may operate a softwareapplication executable by a computer processor that may build, based onthe detected set of UPIs, a representation of the field of view into a2D model. The software application may be configured to generate eachrepresentation according to the products being in a serial organizationor a reference organization. For example, a serial organization may be aset of products arranged on eight (8) shelves each with forty (40)spring load pushers, where the software application may generate arepresentation such as “shelf: 1, facing: 10, new UPI:0010001000101000101, time: 12:12:12, date: 1-1-19”. For further example,a reference organization may be a non-uniform sized product sold fromhanging rods, where the software may generate a representation such as“x: 500-550, y: 400-450, new UPI: 00101000101001001, time: 12:14:12,date: 1-2-19”. According to embodiments, because the sensor component(s)205 observes a field of view (FOV), the sensor component(s) 205 maygenerate a two-dimensional or matrix representation of the FOV, wherethe generated representation may map where a fixed inventory location(FIL) is in reference to the other FILs detectable in the FOV. Forexample, an FIL within a retail location can be an individual springloadpusher that is mounted to a shelf which is among several otherspringload pushers from which products can be stocked and sold. Anotherexample of a FIL is an individual gravity-fed tray mounted to a shelfwhich is among several other gravity-fed trays from which products canbe stocked and sold. The representation may identify shelves (e.g. shelf1, shelf 2, etc.) and left-to-right serial placement of FILs (e.g. FIL1, FIL 2, etc.). In situations where products are merchandised onadjustable hooks or other non-uniform formats, the FIL may be identifiedby the X-Y coordinates it occupies within the FOV, as illustrated inTable 1:

TABLE 1 Shelf 1 FIL 1 FIL 2 FIL 3 FIL 4 Shelf 2 FIL 1 FIL 2 FIL 3 FIL 4Shelf 3 FIL 1 FIL 2 FIL 3 FIL 4

In embodiments, the software application may also facilitate imagesubtraction or image division where the sensor software may compare twoimages and erase all pixels that are similar from an output image. Thesoftware application may employ this technique in situations where theremay be one frame indicating at least one emitting UPI and one frame thatdoes not indicate an emitting UPI, where the software application mayoutput, as an output image, any visible changes, such as a fluorescingUPI.

After generating the representation, the sensor component(s) 205 maytransmit (226) the representation to the remote server 215 via a networkconnection (e.g., a cellular connection). In an embodiment, the sensorcomponent(s) 205 may transmit the representation to a computing devicewithin the store via a local area connection, which may transmit therepresentation to the remote server 215 via a wide area connection. Thesensor component(s) 205 may repeat (222), (224), and (226) periodically(i.e., at set time intervals). Additionally or alternatively, the sensorcomponent(s) 205 may generate and transmit a representation when thesensor component(s) 205 detects a change in the detected UPIs, where therepresentation may reflect which product(s) are no longer detected(i.e., which product(s) has been purchased or otherwise retrieved by anindividual) and which product(s) are now detected (i.e., whichproduct(s) has replaced the product(s) that is no longer detected). Inparticular, the sensor component(s) 205 may compare the representationto a previously-generated representation, and identify a differencebetween the representation and the previously-generated representation,and may transmit the information in response to this comparison. Inembodiments, the sensor component(s) 205 may transmit the representationas a set of data packets that may comprise a set of timestamps.According to embodiments, as new UPIs become visible, the sensorcomponent(s) 205 may transmit the new UPI(s), time ofvisibility/detection, and applicable FIL(s) to the remote server 215. Ifan FIL no longer contains a UPI, then the representation may indicate anempty product facing.

According to some embodiments, after the sensor component(s) 205 isinstalled at a retail location, the sensor component(s) 205 may begintransmitting a complete representation of its field of view to theserver computer 215. When the representation is established at theserver computer 215, the sensor component(s) 205 may transmit anychanges (i.e., the delta) to the representation to the server computer215. In particular, when the sensor component(s) 205 detects differentUPI(s) in a field of view, the sensor component(s) 205 may transmit achange or difference between the previously-generated representation anda currently-generated representation. While the sensor component(s) 205may transmit data at the time of observation, the sensor component(s)205 may alternatively transmit packets of data at specific timeintervals with a timestamp representing each change of therepresentation. The use of data packets may allow for opportunities tobetter validate data accuracy between the sensor component(s) 205 andthe server computer 215. Additionally, the use of data packets mayresult in a reduction in data transmission costs.

The server computer 215 may analyze/process (228) the representation. Inparticular, the server computer 215 may match the code(s) included inthe representation with a registry to determine which product(s) arerepresented in the representation. Additionally, the server computer 215may determine, from one or more representations transmitted from thesensor component(s) 205, changes to the product inventory. For example,if a representation indicates that a product is no longer detected, theserver computer 215 may designate that product as being purchased orotherwise no longer available for sale at its original location withinthe store.

In embodiments, because the sensor component(s) 205 relies online-of-sight to observe the UPI(s), there are situations where thesensed data may be incomplete. An example of this situation is when twoor more of a product is selected by an individual at one time and thesensor component(s) 205 may not be able to observe the additionalproduct(s) selected. The server computer 215 may account for thisincomplete data by analyzing the data via negitiva (i.e., UPIs notobserved that should have been observed and that could help fill in gapscreated by non-observed UPIs). The server computer 215 may alternativelyor additionally mitigate these potential instances by establishinghistorical data trends, assessing percentages of multi-unit sale, andconducting a time series analysis of the absence of a product from arepresentation(s).

The server computer 215 may further determine how to manage productinventory based on the representations(s) transmitted from the sensorcomponent(s) 205. In particular, because the representation(s) indicateproducts that are purchased or otherwise no longer available for sale,the server computer 215 may determine that additional products may needto be stocked or ordered. Additionally or alternatively, the servercomputer 215 may determine that one or more particular products are notbeing sold (or are experiencing low sales volume), in which case theserver computer 215 may determine potential replacement products.

The systems and methods may enable to the server computer 215 to haveaccess to real-time or near-real-time data descriptive of productavailability in stores. Various benefits are envisioned, including thepossibility to engage and incentivize employees of retail locations viaautomated communication services. For example, the server computer 215may generate and transmit, to a set of computing devices associated witha store (e.g., handheld devices that employees may hold), a set ofinformation associated with the inventory of the store and indicatingthe product availability, what products have sold or have been selling,and/or other information. For example, the server computer 215 maytransmit various electronic communications, such as emails, textmessages, messaging communications, and/or the like. Additionally,retailers and manufacturers may experience cost reductions through thereduction is such activities and tasks as changing signs, resetting thearrangement of products on a shelf, or checking for additional productin a storage area. Additionally, retail agents may use communications orapplications on electronic devices that may enable communications withan automated service.

Various automated engagement use cases are also envisioned. Currently,when new products are brought to market, there is no way for marketersto quickly and accurately know what retail locations properly displaythe new product and/or advertising materials. With the systems andmethods, marketers may more easily ensure that retailers are presentingnew products correctly and may more quickly and easily discern theviability of new products.

Additionally, manufacturers of consumer goods spend billions of dollarsa year (e.g., through trade programs) incentivizing retailers to selltheir products in a specific way. Currently, the most common way tovalidate that retailers are adhering to said programs are for salesrepresentatives to periodically visit the stores in person, howeverthese visits provide just a snapshot of data. In contrast, the systemsand methods may provide retailers with small job incentives that willbring the store into compliance and keep it compliant.

Moreover, there are advertisements that need to be changed at retaillocations to communicate new messages to consumers, where the currentoptions to change the advertisements include sending a salesrepresentative or paying a retailer and hope that they fulfill theiragreement. However, these options are expensive and can lead tosub-standard/optimal results. The systems and methods may employautomated retailer engagements that incentivize retailers and validateplacement of rotational signs in real-time or near-real-time.

Various sensors and sensor configurations are envisioned for observingUPIs, generating 2D representations of a field of view, and transmittingdata to a processing facility or other central repository (e.g., theserver computer 115, 215 as discussed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2).

One sensor configuration is a near infrared (NIR) emitting light sourcewith band-pass filter in which a light source, such as an LED or otherlight source, may be directed in the field of view of applicableproducts and emit radiation in a bandwidth that corresponds to the NIRabsorption point of the IR ink present in the UPI affixed to theproduct(s). A sensor, such as a low lux CMOS chip, may also be directedin the field of view. Before the light enters the lens of the CMOS chip,it passes through a band-pass filter which blocks light except for aband of light having a frequency corresponding to the emission point ofthe IR ink. In certain embodiments, this sensor may not be equipped withthe NIR emitter, as it may be possible for an image processor tocorrectly read any slight effects of IR ink with the naturally-occurringlight at the absorption and emission wavelengths.

Another sensor configuration is an oscillating NIR emitting light sourcewith band-pass filter in which a light source, such as an LED, diffusedlaser, raster laser, or other light source, may be directed in the fieldof view of applicable products and emit radiation in a bandwidth thatcorresponds to the NIR absorption point of the IR ink present in the UPIaffixed to the product(s). In this configuration, an oscillator maycause the LED to oscillate between on and off and allow for every otherframe captured by the sensor to either show the IR ink fluorescing orthe ink in a relaxed state. The sensor may process two adjacent framesthrough image subtraction that results in an output image showingUPI(s). A sensor, such as a low lux CMOS, CCD, or other chip that may becapable of NIR operation, may also be directed in the field of view.Before the light enters the lens of the CMOS, CCD, or other chip, itpasses through a band-pass filter which blocks light except for a bandof light having a frequency corresponding to the emission point of theIR ink. If the LED does not operate continuously, it may be configuredto power on and off (i.e., operate as a flash). Due to limitations inachieving peak forward current, the frame rate may be limited, in someembodiments.

An additional sensor configuration may be a stereo sensor with an NIRemitter. In this configuration, two or more CMOS, CCD, or other sensorsmay be arranged adjacent to each other, where a first sensor may beequipped with a band-pass filter that may operate at an absorptionfrequency, and a second sensor that may be equipped with a band-passfilter that may operate at an emission frequency. The images may beprocessed through image subtraction to isolate a fluorescence of the IRink. Additionally, a light source emitting at the absorption frequencyof the ink may be used to increase quantum yield.

According to embodiments, each of these sensor configurations may alsobe equipped with an image recognition camera. Generally, there may betimes when retailers and manufacturers desire data on products that donot have UPIs. In this situation, as sensor(s) may capture images of thefield of view, the images may be analyzed using various imagerecognition techniques that may result in additional data that may befurther analyzed or processed.

FIG. 3A depicts a front view of a sensor component 300 according to thesystems and methods described herein, and FIG. 3B depicts across-section side view of the sensor component 300. It should beappreciated that the sensor component implementations depicted in FIGS.3A and 3B are merely examples, and alternative and additionalimplementations are contemplated.

The sensor component 300 may include a set of LEDs 302, 304 that may bedisposed or mounted on a surface of the sensor component 300. FIG. 3Adepicts the eight (8) such LEDs that are rectangular in shape and thatare disposed in a circular manner about a center of the sensor component300. However, it should be appreciated that fewer or more LEDs may beemployed, where the LEDs may be different shapes and sizes, and may bedisposed in alternative configurations, shapes, or the like. Further, itshould be appreciated that alternative light sources other than LEDssuch as a diffused or raster laser(s) may be used.

According to embodiments, each of the LEDs 302, 304 may emit light at acertain wavelength or range of wavelengths. For example, each of theLEDs 302, 304 may emit light at a wavelength of 800 nm (or anotherwavelength or range of wavelengths).

The sensor component 300 may further include a band-pass filter 306which is configured to pass frequencies within a certain range andattenuate frequencies outside that range. In operation, the light outputby the LEDs 302, 304 may be absorbed by a UPI(s) affixed to aproduct(s), where the UPI(s) may emit a light at an emission frequencyand where the band-pass filter 306 may be configured to pass light atthe emission frequency of the UPI(s). Accordingly, any light emitted bythe UPI(s) at the emission frequency will pass through the band-passfilter 306.

The sensor component 300 may further be configured with a sensor 308that may detect or sense any light that passes through the band-passfilter 306 (e.g., any light emitted by the UPI(s) at the emissionfrequency). The sensor 308 may be communicatively connected to aprocessor 310, where the sensor 308 may send data indicative of thesensed light to the processor 310 for any additional analysis andprocessing.

According to embodiments, the processor 310 may analyze the data fromthe sensor 308 to determine or identify the UPI(s) indicated in thedata. Additionally, the processor 310 may generate a representation(s)corresponding to the determined UPI(s), as discussed herein. The sensorcomponent 300 may be further configured with a communication module 312that may be configured to communicate with various components. Thecommunication module 312 may include one or more transceivers (e.g.,WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning in accordance withIEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or other standards, and configured toreceive and transmit data via one or more external ports. For example,the communication module 312 may communicate with the server computer215 as described with respect to FIG. 2 via one or more networks.

In an optional implementation, the sensor component 300 may beconfigured with an oscillator 314 which may cause the LEDs 302, 304 tooscillate between on and off and allow for every other frame captured bythe sensor 308 to either show IR ink fluorescing or the ink in a relaxedstate. Accordingly, the processor 310 may process two adjacent framesthrough image subtraction that results in an output image showingUPI(s). It should be appreciated that the sensor component 300 mayinclude mounting components (not shown in the figures) configured tosecure the sensor component 300 to various components within a store.

FIG. 4 depicts is a block diagram of an example method 400 foridentifying products within a store. The method 400 may be facilitatedby a sensor component and associated components that may be incommunication with a server computer.

The method 400 may begin when a set of light sources emits (block 405)light in a frequency corresponding to an absorption frequency of amarking applied to a product. In an optional implementation, anoscillator may cause (block 410) the set of light sources to oscillateon and off.

When the marking applied to the product absorbs the emitted light, themarking may emit additional light at an emission frequency. Accordingly,a digital sensor may detect (block 415) the additional light emitted atthe emission frequency. In embodiments, the sensor component may beconfigured with a band-pass filter configured to pass through light atthe emission frequency.

A computer processor may analyze (block 420) the additional lightdetected by the digital sensor to identify an identifier (e.g., a UPI)corresponding to the product. If the sensor component comprises anoscillator, the additional light may include two adjacent image frames,and the computer processor may generate, using an image subtraction ordivision technique based on the two adjacent image frames, an outputimage indicating the identifier corresponding to the product.

The computer processor may generate (block 425) a digital representationof the identifier corresponding to the product. In embodiments, thedigital representation may include additional data indicating theconfiguration and/or location of the product within the store.Additionally, the digital representation may indicate a difference froma previously-generated digital representation (i.e., the digitalrepresentation may indicate the identifier that was not included in thepreviously-generated digital representation).

The sensor component may transmit (block 430), via a transceiver, atleast a portion of the digital representation to a component external tothe sensor component. According to embodiments, the component externalto the sensor component may analyze the digital representations forfurther processing, as discussed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a hardware diagram of an example sensor component 505(such as the sensor component 205 as discussed with respect to FIG. 2)and an example server 515 (such as the server computer 215 as discussedwith respect to FIG. 2), in which the functionalities as discussedherein may be implemented.

The sensor component 505 may include a processor 572 as well as a memory578. The memory 578 may store an operating system 579 capable offacilitating the functionalities as discussed herein as well as a set ofapplications 575 (i.e., machine readable instructions). For example, oneof the set of applications 575 may be an analysis application 590configured to analyze light detected by a sensor(s) 571 and generaterepresentations of depicted UPIs, as discussed herein. It should beappreciated that one or more other applications 592 are envisioned.

The processor 572 may interface with the memory 578 to execute theoperating system 579 and the set of applications 575. According to someembodiments, the memory 578 may also include other data 580 includingdata associated with collected documentation and/or other data. Thememory 578 may include one or more forms of volatile and/ornon-volatile, fixed and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory(ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random accessmemory (RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, andothers.

The sensor component 505 may further include a communication module 577configured to communicate data via one or more networks 510. Accordingto some embodiments, the communication module 577 may include one ormore transceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers)functioning in accordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or otherstandards, and configured to receive and transmit data via one or moreexternal ports 576. For example, the communication module 577 maycommunicate with the server 515 via the network(s) 510.

The sensor component 505 may include the set of sensors 571 such as, forexample, a location module (e.g., a GPS chip), an image sensor, and/orother sensors. Additionally, the sensor component 505 may include a setof light sources 583 configured to emit light, a band-pass filter 582configured to pass through light of a certain frequency range, and anoscillator 581 configured to oscillate the set of light sources 583 onand off.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the sensor component 505 may communicate andinterface with the server 515 via the network(s) 510. The server 515 mayinclude a processor 559 as well as a memory 556. The memory 556 maystore an operating system 557 capable of facilitating thefunctionalities as discussed herein as well as a set of applications 551(i.e., machine readable instructions). For example, one of the set ofapplications 551 may be a product analysis application 552 configured toanalyze data submitted from the sensor component 505. It should beappreciated that one or more other applications 553 are envisioned.

The processor 559 may interface with the memory 556 to execute theoperating system 557 and the set of applications 551. According to someembodiments, the memory 556 may also include other data 558, such asdata associated with a data model, data received from the sensorcomponent 505, and/or other data. The memory 556 may include one or moreforms of volatile and/or non-volatile, fixed and/or removable memory,such as read-only memory (ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory(EPROM), random access memory (RAM), erasable electronic programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory,MicroSD cards, and others.

The server 515 may further include a communication module 555 configuredto communicate data via the one or more networks 510. According to someembodiments, the communication module 555 may include one or moretransceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning inaccordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or other standards, andconfigured to receive and transmit data via one or more external ports554. For example, the communication module 555 may receive, from thesensor component 505, a set of digital representations of URIs detectedby the sensor component 505.

The server 515 may further include a user interface 562 configured topresent information to a user and/or receive inputs from the user. Asshown in FIG. 5, the user interface 562 may include a display screen 563and I/O components 564 (e.g., ports, capacitive or resistive touchsensitive input panels, keys, buttons, lights, LEDs). According to someembodiments, the user may access the server 515 via the user interface562 to review information, make selections, and/or perform otherfunctions.

In some embodiments, the server 515 may perform the functionalities asdiscussed herein as part of a “cloud” network or may otherwisecommunicate with other hardware or software components within the cloudto send, retrieve, or otherwise analyze data.

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentmay include a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard randomaccess memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB)drive, or the like) having computer-readable program code embodiedtherein, wherein the computer-readable program code may be adapted to beexecuted by the processors 572, 559 (e.g., working in connection withthe respective operating systems 579, 557) to facilitate the functionsas described herein. In this regard, the program code may be implementedin any desired language, and may be implemented as machine code,assembly code, byte code, interpretable source code or the like (e.g.,via Golang, Python, Scala, C, C++, Java, Actionscript, Objective-C,Javascript, CSS, XML). In some embodiments, the computer program productmay be part of a cloud network of resources.

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention may be defined by the words of the claims setforth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to beconstrued as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternateembodiments, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a non-transitory, machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware,the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware module that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that may be permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that may betemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it may becommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment may be included in at leastone embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “may include,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also may include the plural unless itis obvious that it is meant otherwise.

This detailed description is to be construed as examples and does notdescribe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of identifyingproducts by a sensor component, the method comprising: emitting, by aset of light sources disposed on the sensor component, light in afrequency corresponding to an absorption frequency of a marking appliedto a product; detecting, by a digital sensor, additional light emitted,in an emission frequency, by the marking applied to the product, whereinthe additional light passes through a band-pass filter; analyzing, by acomputer processor, the additional light detected by the digital sensorto identify an identifier corresponding to the product; and generating,by the computer processor, a digital representation of the identifiercorresponding to the product.
 2. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by a transceiver via anetwork connection, at least a portion of the digital representation toa component external to the sensor component.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein transmitting at leastthe portion of the digital representation comprises: comparing thedigital representation to a previously-generated digital representationto identify a difference between the digital representation and thepreviously-generated digital representation; and in response to thecomparing, transmitting at least the portion of the digitalrepresentation to the component external to the sensor component.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: oscillatingthe set of light sources on and off; wherein the additional lightdetected by the digital sensor comprises two adjacent image frames, andwherein analyzing the additional light comprises: generating, using animage subtraction technique based on the two adjacent image frames, anoutput image indicating the identifier corresponding to the product. 5.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating thedigital representation comprises: generating the digital representationindicating a difference from a previously-generated digitalrepresentation.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereingenerating the digital representation comprises: generating the digitalrepresentation indicating a set of fixed inventory locations (FILs),wherein the product is stocked in one of the set of FILs.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the digitalrepresentation comprises: generating the digital representationindicating the identifier corresponding to the product, a timestamp ofwhen the additional light was detected, and a fixed inventory location(FIL) in which the product is stocked.
 8. A sensor component foridentifying products, comprising: a set of light sources configured toemit light in a frequency corresponding to an absorption frequency of amarking applied to a product; a band-pass filter configured to passlight having a range of frequencies; a digital sensor configured tosense additional light passed through the band-pass filter, wherein theadditional light is emitted, in an emission frequency within the rangeof frequencies, by the marking applied to the product; and a processorinterfaced with the digital sensor and configured to: analyze theadditional light detected by the digital sensor to identify anidentifier corresponding to the product, and generate a digitalrepresentation of the identifier corresponding to the product.
 9. Thesensor component of claim 8, further comprising: a transceiverinterfaced with the processor and configured to: transmit, via a networkconnection, at least a portion of the digital representation to acomponent external to the sensor component.
 10. The sensor component ofclaim 9, wherein the processor compares the digital representation to apreviously-generated digital representation to identify a differencebetween the digital representation and the previously-generated digitalrepresentation, and wherein the transmitter transmits at least theportion of the digital representation to the component external to thesensor component in response to the processor comparing the digitalrepresentation of the previously-generated digital representation. 11.The sensor component of claim 8, further comprising: an oscillatorconfigured to oscillate the set of light sources on and off; wherein theadditional light detected by the digital sensor comprises two adjacentimage frames, and wherein to analyze the additional light, the processoris configured to: generate, using an image subtraction or divisiontechnique based on the two adjacent image frames, an output imageindicating the identifier corresponding to the product.
 12. The sensorcomponent of claim 8, wherein to generate the digital representation,the processor is configured to: generate the digital representationindicating a difference from a previously-generated digitalrepresentation.
 13. The sensor component of claim 8, wherein theprocessor generates the digital representation indicating the identifiercorresponding to the product, a timestamp of when the additional lightwas sensed, and a fixed inventory location (FIL) in which the product isstocked.
 14. A system for identifying products for sale in a store,comprising: a sensor component configured to: emit light in a frequencycorresponding to an absorption frequency of a set of markings applied toa set of products, detect additional light emitted, in an emissionfrequency, by the set of markings applied to the set of products,analyze the additional light to identify a set of identifierscorresponding to the set of products, generate a digital representationof the set of identifiers corresponding to the set of products, andtransmit at least a portion of the digital representation to a servercomputer; and the server computer configured to: receive, from thesensor component, at least the portion of the digital representation,and determine the set of products from at least the portion of thedigital representation.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein to determinethe set of products, the server computer is configured to: identify,from at least the portion of the digital representation, the set ofidentifiers corresponding to the set of products, and match the set ofidentifiers corresponding to the set of products to a corresponding setof products included in a registry.
 16. The system of claim 14, whereinthe sensor component generates the digital representation to indicate adifference from a previously-generated digital representation; andwherein the server is further configured to: determine, based on thedifference from the previously-generated digital representation, atleast one additional product that has been sold in the store.
 17. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the server computer is further configuredto: update an inventory for the store using the set of identifierscorresponding to the set of products included in the digitalrepresentation.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the server computeris further configured to: transmit, to a set of computing devicesassociated with the store, a set of information associated with theinventory for the store.
 19. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensorcomponent generates the digital representation to indicate the set ofidentifiers corresponding to the set of products, a timestamp of whenthe additional light was detected, and a set of fixed inventory location(FILs) in which the set of product is stocked.
 20. The system of claim14, wherein the additional light comprises two adjacent image frames,and wherein to analyze the additional light, the sensor component isconfigured to: generate, using an image subtraction or divisiontechnique based on the two adjacent image frames, an output imageindicating the set of identifiers corresponding to the set of products.